Woman who was left housebound issues major warning after catching ringworm from ‘gym equipment’
A horrified gym lover was left with a health condition that altered her everyday life after what she thought was a routine visit to the gym.
Jamie Samnang, 41, thought she was bitten by a mosquito when an itchy rash formed on her arm.
Not only did she draw blood after scratching it, but pus-filled bumps formed on her arm, with bug creams doing nothing as the rash spread to her legs and ankles.
She saw a dermatologist, with the health professional diagnosing her with the contagious fungal infection known as ringworm.
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They determined that she likely caught it at the gym.
A cosmetologist believes that she caught the 'severe' case from the pads on an ab crunch machine at the gym, as she put her bare arms on them.
The American assumed that staff had cleaned the equipment before using it, so did not wipe it down before using it.
She was given antifungal cream as a result of the situation, and told to avoid work and the gym, while also being told she couldn't sleep in the same bed as her husband until the ring-shaped rash had gone.
This all happened in September, with Jamie now admitting that she cleans machines before and after use, and dons a long-sleeved sweatshirt at the gym.
Now, her aim is to spread the warning message to other gym goers so that they don't have to go through the same ordeal she did.
"My workout outfit was short sleeved and my arms were exposed," she recalled.
"I was using the ab crunch machine so you sit and you hold onto handlebars and your elbows are placed flat onto pads.
"Later that night I started to feel a slight tingling, a slight itch - I thought maybe I'd been bitten by a mosquito, but as the days went on it kept getting worse," Jamie said.
She said the itching was 'so intense and severe' despite using creams, and that it spread to her legs as she would touch them after itching her arm.
After finding out from her dermatologist that she had ringworm, she recalled: "They said gyms are one of the number one areas for ringworm because it's hot, sweaty, and moist - it's the perfect breeding ground for fungal growth.
"They prescribed me an antifungal steroidal cream and that worked."
The fitness fanatic had to apply the cream three times a day for three weeks until the infection cleared up completely, even getting in touch with management to complain about her situation to ensure it wouldn't happen to any other people.
She went on: "I had to wash everything.
"I had to bleach, I had to sterilise, I had to get new bed sheets and I couldn't sleep near my husband because I was going to get him infected."
Jamie had to pause her five-times-a-week gym routine until her doctor gave her the green light.
"When I found out it was ringworm, I immediately told them because I believe part of the staff's job is to help wipe down equipment," she admitted.
"I wasn't mad at them, I wasn't angry, it was just unfortunate that it happened to me," as Jamie added that the gym staff now take measures to prevent it from happening again.
After going from sports bras to long sleeved sweatshirts, she has urged everyone to wipe down equipment before and after using them.
She noted that while she would 'wipe it down after', her assumption that the equipment was clean beforehand was wide of the mark, claiming that her 'outlook is completely different now'.
Jamie concluded: "I'd never been in contact with ringworm and I just don't want that to happen to anybody else because it's a nightmare.
"For three weeks I was itching so severely that I was bleeding."
According to the NHS, the main symptom of ringworm is a rash that is ring-shaped. The infection has no connection to actual worms.
The rash may be dry, itchy, scaly or swollen, and can be passed through close contact with infected people or objects and surfaces.
Antifungal medication is the main treatment of the condition.
Joshua Nair